Khmer Rouge's Election Stance Draws U.n.'s Ire

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE - WORLD

April 11, 1993

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — The head of U.N. peacekeepers in Cambodia warned the Khmer Rouge Saturday it had taken a dangerous step toward outlaw status by threatening to disrupt next month's national elections.

The guerrilla group responded by refusing to support a resolution from head of state Prince Norodom Sihanouk that demanded an end to all violence, including attacks on U.N. peacekeepers.

Seven U.N. personnel have been killed in the past two weeks. The resolution was supported by the three other factions at a meeting of the all-faction Supreme National Council.

Khmer Rouge president Khieu Samphan sat stony-faced through the discussion on the resolution but later denounced what he called Vietnam's colonial ambitions over Cambodia.

Vietnam, the United Nations and diplomats in Phnom Penh dispute Khmer Rouge claims that Vietnamese troops are still in the country despite their announced withdrawal in 1989.